- Gerald Washington
Gerald Washington (c. 1949—
December 30 ,2006 ) was themayor -elect ofWestlake, Louisiana , until he was shot and killed on December 30, 2006. He was scheduled to take office onJanuary 2 ,2007 , as the first black mayor in the city's history, elected by voters who were over 80% white. His death triggered accusations that he was the victim of a racially motivated murder, although theCalcasieu Parish coroner ruled the death a suicide. He was killed by a single gunshot from his ownrevolver , and powder was found deep in the wound, which, according to the coroner, indicated that it was pressed against his chest at the time, a sign of suicide. His family accused theSheriff 's office of doing a poor job, and asked the state police to step in for a more thorough investigation.The state police report totalled more than 800 pages of documents, and included both additional physical evidence, such as the pattern of blood spatters, and investigation of possible
motive s. According to the investigation, Washington had gambled away hundreds of thousands of dollars from his retirement account, owed about $50,000 to the IRS, and had been sleepless and depressed in the weeks leading up to his death. [ [http://www.kplctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6301716 KPLC-TV Lake Charles/Lafayette, Louisiana: Hurricane Rita Video/DVD - D.A. Closes Gerald Washington Case ] ] The family acknowledged that the report was mostly accurate, but remained unconvinced, citing the fact that the fire department had been called in to wash his truck off the night his body was found as a sign of a coverup. [ [http://www.kplctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6305930&nav=0nqx KPLC-TV Lake Charles/Lafayette, Louisiana: Hurricane Rita Video/DVD - Washington Family Speaks Out About State Police Investigation ] ]References
*http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6717413
*http://www.kplctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5875510
* [http://www.kplctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5903985&nav=0nqx Washington's Family On Standby For Answers]
* [http://www.kplctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5934981 Family and Friends say goodbye to Gerald Washington]External links
* [http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-18-2007/0004508641&EDATE= National Conference of Black Mayors, Inc. (NCBM) Calling on Louisiana State and Federal Officials to Conduct Thorough Investigation into Shooting Death of Mayor Elect] - Press Release
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